Rotary-magazine fuse-box.



L. D. BPEBRSON. ROTARY MAGAZINE PUsB BOX.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 25, 1911. 1,023,929. Patented Apr. 28, 1912.

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a pa 1/ L. D. BPPERSQN, ROTARY MAGAZINE FUSE BOX.

a APPLIGA'LION FILED 25, 1911. 1 gg ggg Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LANDY n. arrnnson, or KANSAS crrY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR or (immenseensures H ABBETT, or KANSAS crrY, MISSOURI, r L

ROTARY-MAGAZINE FUSE-BOX.

To allwiwm it may concern V Be it known that I, LANDY D. EPPERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary- Magazine Fuse-Boxes, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to rotary magazint fuse boxes and has for its object to produce a device'whereby, in the event of a blowout the melted fuse can be instantly shifted to an inoperative position and a new fuse caused to assume the position formerly occupied by the destroyed one without necessi tatingif used on a trolley car -the discon nection of the trolley wheel from the trolley wire or the absence of the inotorman or conductor from his proper station in the car.

A'fur-ther object is to produce a rotary magazine fuse box ofsimple, strong, durable and inexper' lsive construction.

tVith these and otherobjects in view, the invention consists in certain novel; and pe-' culiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed;

and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accomanymg drawings, in which Figure 1, 1s a view partly in side elevatlon and partly in central vertical sect-ionof a rotarytmagazine fuse box embodying my invention. Fig. 2, is a. view of one end of the box and also shows the same partly in cent'ralvertical section. F ig. 3, is a fragmentary perspective-view of apart of the fusecarrying magazine of the device. Fig. 4:, is a detail perspective view of one of the de-' tachable contacts of the magazine Fig. 5, is a side view of the fuse.

.In the said drawings, 1 indicates a cylindrical fuse-box consisting of a cylindrical body-2 and circular ends 3 and 4, and said ends are provided with arcuategrooves 5 whereinan arcuate door 6 is adapted to slide When it is desired to obtain access to the inberior of the box, the door normally constit-ut-inga portion of the body of the box as shown, and to secure the box in position, the'ends are provided with upwardly pro jocting angle portions 7,by which-they are Specification of Letters Patent. Applicaticn filed September 25, 1911. Serial No. 651,270;

' zine turns.

- Patented bolted to a suitable analogousvehicle. I V v v The rotary fuse-carryingrmagazine isgconstructed as follows: Arranged axiallyiof the box and journaled in theends thereof is a partof the "c5156:

shaft 9, and secured rigidly ft is a ratchet wheel 10, provided preferably vith nine teeth, one toot-h, 11,.ofwhichis tv1c eas long as two of the remaining teeth,.for a purpose which hereinafter appears Pivoted on the shaft adjacent to the ratchet wheel isa lever 12, equipped with a springactuated pawl 13, engaging the ratchet wheel and below and above the lever are stop pins 1 1 and 15, for limiting the movementof the lever so that the same shall be incapable of,

rotating the shaft more than'one-tenth of a revolution at a time. i I

16 is a chain or'cable attachedto the free end of the lever and extendingtto a point within convenient reach ofthe motor-man or conductor, the said cable or chainlat' an intermediate point extending over a gtnde sheav .17 gournaled in an arm 18, pro ect'1ng from the adjacentendd of the bIox, ,the

sheave being equipped with the customary shield 19 to prevent disengagement of f the' chain or cable from thesheaveL p, Mounted rigidly on the shaftlwithin and near each end of thebox is a disk 20 of insulating material, provided with ten, peripheeral notches 21,, and fittingin said: notches are the outwardly projecting arm a122, of angle brackets 23, said angle brackets'liaving inwardly projecting radially extending lugs 24. -The brackets of ,oneofthed isks are also provided with lugs 25,.at thefout'er ends of lugs 24, and bearing onitheiri-puter faces numbers frond 1- to 10 inclusive, arranged progressively in the reverse direction to the direction in which the inaga- Each of the brackets alsocarries a U-shaped spring; 26, arranged radially oflugs, 24 with one 'arin oft-each secured to the juxtaposed lugbya screw 27 and the other arm, spaced from the 0pposite side of the lug andabent outward therefrom at 28, and saidclast-hainedarms of the springs are provided with perforations 29 to receive pins 3,1 projecting outward from contact. plates 30 adaptedth the plates 30 and the adj he slipped between lugs 2i and the peritorated arms of said springs until the pins 31 engage the perforations of said spring,

es ot the contacts pressed yieldingly together for the purpose oi? holding them between the fuse strips 32, the fu e strips extending from the angle brackets 23 of one disk 29 to the angle brackets 01 the other disk 20. .Fiuse strips are of type in common use, that is to say are provided centrally with holes 32 whic 1 so weaken them that .when in circuit, as hereinatter explained, hey will melt or blowout under certain conditions, at such perforated points.

To guard against the production of an are between the spring 26 in circuit with the circuit terminals hereinafter identified, and the shaft 9, or between adjacent contact brackets or Eases, a cylinder 34: ct insulation material is interposed between the springs and shaft 9, and extends from one disk 20, to the other, and insulation plates or partitions radiate from cylinder to the periphery oi the magazine between adiacent sets of contact brackets.

At a suitable point the body of the boa; is provided with an opening 36 and i from the ends 3 and at at opposite ends of said opening are lugs 37 connected by cross pieces 38 of insulation material by preference, insulation lining plates being also secured to lugs 37 and extendin upward therefrom above the plane of the adjacent contact brackets to prevent arcing between the latter and the ends of the box.

Secured to one of the cross pieces 38 a pair of tubular brackets e0, equipped with spring contact 4-1 adapted for successive engagement rangementoi' the mechanism being such that an opposite pair of the said brackets are always in contact with the two spring con tact terminals d1, when the parts are in operative position, that is, at all times except when the contact carrying wheel is being turned or adjusted. Connected to the tubular brackets 40 are the terminals 4:1 of the circuit in which the fuse box is located, it being understood that the circuit is from one of the terminals e2, its connected bracket a0, contact 41, one of the angle brackets 93, and through the fuse strip 32 thereof to the opposite angle bracket 23, and from the latter through the other contact terminal 41 and bracket 10, to the other terminal i), and that at such time, one of the number lugs 25 is observable through an opening 43 in the body of the box, as shown clearly in Fig. 1.

Assuming that a set of uses has been blown out and removed, the motorman or other person in charge opens the door 6, and

acent si lugs 2a constitute depend by the angle brackets 23, the arl l l i l l l l l l l l l l l turns the magazine step by step by turning shaft 9 through the instrumentality of hand wheel eta, on the opposite end of said shaft trom the ratchetmechanism, as to bring the different contachcarrying brackets succc sirely opposite the door opening, and as each set oi said brackets is thus disposed, he secures a fuse thereto by forcing it radially between brackets and the contacts 30.

When the magazine is fully charged, the bracket lug 25 containing the number 10, appears through opening 43. The door is then. closed and the car is ready to operation, and at such time the paw i lo l or o erative face gagement with the radia of the long tooth ct Should a fuse blow out the motorman or conductor, through the iustruuientality of the pawl and the wtchet mechanism, turns the magazine one step in' the direction indicated b the arrow (fig. 2) and this occurs the burned out t'us 's moved out of engagement with the contact terminals ll and a new fuse is disposed. in engagement with. said terminals and at the stone time bracket ing 95 numbered 9 appears through open.- ing and th 1. ates that nine intact fuses in the i Each time a fuse blows out this opt on repeated and the numbers 8, T, l, 5, i, if, 2, and 1 successively appear through opening 413, and. as numher 1 is thus disposed the pawl assumes a position upon the blank tooth 11, of the ratchet wheel, so that it will be impossible for the magazine to be turned an additional step through the instrumentality at the ratchet mechanism. it being understood that when the magazine has been turned nine steps the tenth or only fuse remaining intact brought into circuit with the contacts ll, and should this ttuse blow out it will be impossible to operate the car until the motorman or conductor recharges the magazine with. one or more fusesv It is obvious that, in the construction shown, it would be necessary for him to start the loading operation through the door opening and to turn the magazine at 31st the first step through the instrument'ality oi hand wheel l1, as after the nu aine is turned the last step the pawl again disposed in anu ratchet mechanism is the relation shown in Fig. 2, and may be utilized to effect further rotation of the magazine.

From the above description it will be apparent that one step of each revolution of the magazine must be effected through the instrumentality of the handwheel or its equivalent and that because of this the motorman or conductor will be immediately apprised ott 19, :E Q Ehat the supply of fuses is exhausted should he attempt to turn the magazine the final or tenth step through the len th, a lever having a range of movement mechanism.

instrumentality of the pawl and ratchet It is obvious that the fuses can be and quicklyplaced in the magazine and that thelugs 2i and removaole contact plates 2-30 can be readily cleaned byiscraping or otherwise when necessary.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a rotary magazine fuse box embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the object of invention and wish it to be understood. that while I have illustrated and described the pre. l em: bodiment of the invention, 1 do IlOL desi to be restricted to the exact details of cons mtion shown and described, as obvious mod;- fications will suggest themselves to one skilled the art.

1. A rotary magazine fuse box, comprising a box, a rotary magazine therein, provided with a series of fuses spaced at regular distances around the magazine, Contact brackets secured to the magazine and engaging the opposite ends of said fuses, con-- tact terminals carried by the box and adapted for simultaneous engagement by the con tact bracketsof each fuse, a ratchet "Wheel rotatable wit-h the magazine and proi with one less' tooth than there are in the magazine, one of said being of double length, a lever ing a range of movement sufiicient to turi theratchet wheel a distance equal to f the length of its long tooth, and a pawl. car ried by the lever for engagement with the ratchet wheel to turn the magazine step and bring the fuses successively in cuit with the said contact terminals.

2. A rotary magazine fuse oxcoinuris a box, a rotary magazine therein, pr with a series of fuses spaced at regular distances around the magazine, contact brackets secured to the magazine and engaging the opposite ends of said fuses, contact ten minals carried by the box and adapted for simultaneous engagement by the contact brackets of each fuse, a ratchet wheel rota table with the magazine and provided with one less tooth than there are fuses in the magazine, one of said teeth being of double su cient to turn the ratchet wheel a distance equal to half the length. of its long tooth, a pawl carried by the lever for engagement with the ratchet Wheel to turnthe magazine step by step and bring the fuses successively in circuit with the said contact terminals, and suitably guided means for operating said lever to effect rotation of the magazine.

3. A rotary magazine 'fusebox, compris ing a boxh'aving an opening, a rotary mag fuses succes v 'vided w.

azine in ins spaced at regular distances around the mag; eontact brackets sec'i'ired to ".ng the opposite s, lug projecting hem d contact brackets and box, contact terminals and adapted for'simulbrackirheel rotatable provided with one fuses in the magai of double.

g of movement tcl whe l a diso 1 long rried oy tne lever for .n the ratchet wheel to turn p by step and bring the in circuit with the said engagein out a the magazine circuit termin 4.. A me at: box comprising a box having a door conti oiled opening and a second opening a rotary therein proh a series of fuses spaced at reguls the magazine, contact seeijired to the magazine and end8, opposite ends of said fuses, concarried by th box and proj ectrough the sa second opening, s multaneous engagement E tl irets of each fuse, a ratchet wheel rotatable with the magazine A I, Y} n g l i am. I? i o is,

the magazine, one of said teeth a lever having a conta i the in :vi 1 in e the sai with 5. The zine, of pail tact brackets carried. by th opp My box: provided with a series of exposure throulg 'gh paralleling and ed wiwi one less tooth than there tact brackets carried by the magazine pro- I vided with radial lugs, springs carried by said brackets and comprising perforated por tions substantiaily parallering and spacedtrom said radial lugs, plates arranged in the spaces between said lugs and springs and provided. with pins engaging the perforations of said springs, a fuse strip bridging the space between said contact brackets and interposed at its ends between said lugs, and contact plates, a pair of contact terminais in the path of said contact brackets, and means for rotating the magazine to In testimony whereof I afiix my signa ture, in the presenceof two Witnesses.

LANDY D. EPPERSON. Witnesses:

HELEN C RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE. 

